To Be a Hero
by CC Writes
Summary: Years after a purge on anyone who was deemed "special," Piper grew up in a lie. After discovering her powers, she finds herself in the center of a cinematic plot to save the world from the new and powerful villain. Piper doesn't know if she's ready for the challenge, but at least she has six others who are just as unsure by her side.
1. Discovery

**To Be a Hero  
**_Prologue_

The bathtub water swirled around her as she began to submerge herself. The shower was spitting out the water violently, as most hotel showers did.

Outside there was a pound at the door. "Piper, are you okay, sweetie?" It was her adoptive mother.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Come out, then. Your brother needs to shower too."

"Yeah, just a minute."

She had no intention. She began to lower herself more, trying to regulate her shaky breathing. She knew that her experiment wouldn't work if she tensed up and held her breath. That wouldn't prove anything to her.

"Piper, now."

"I said just a minute!" She popped up and glared at the door through the curtains. "The conditioner hasn't set yet!"

"You've had forty-five minutes to let it set! Don't make me get your father!" Her mother pounded on the door again. Usually, she was quiet and didn't say much, and hardly ever scolded her. Yet, now she was about to break down the hotel's bathroom door.

'She is hiding something from me.' Piper's thoughts echoed as she submerged herself more and more, before finally she was underwater. She released the breath she was holding and began to breathe in and out.

She started shaking, not because of the fact she was underwater, but because she was underwater and she was _breathing_ like a normal person would. Her chest didn't feel heavy, her lungs didn't feel as if they would collapse, she felt as if she was on land, inhaling oxygen.

Finally the door popped open and she sat up in the water. "Piper, your mother says it's time to get out."

She exhaled. Good thing her father was very good at respecting a woman's privacy when she was in the bath. "Okay, I'm done." She watched the door close and she unplugged the drain, listening to the gurgling noise.

While she had proven to herself what she originally thought, she was still confused. Normal people couldn't breathe underwater, could they? They drowned if they had tried to do such a thing, yet it came so natural to her like breathing normally does to others.

She quickly dried off and slipped on her pajamas, leaving the bathroom. Her brother sent her a dirty look and she flipped him off, walking over to her parents. "You're going to bed now?" her father asked, lifting his reading glasses up to examine her. Her mother didn't say anything.

"Mom, Dad…"

How would she even approach this topic? Piper knew she was adopted. She knew that her parents had died and that they were good friends of her uncle's, who recommended her parents as the next of kin to take Piper in. Yet, nothing else was said besides that.

Could the answer be in her past?

"I know this sounds crazy," she began looking down at her feet. Piper was never nervous about anything. "But… you know how people can't breathe underwater?"

Her mother tensed. "And that will never change. Now, if you're going to bed, do so."

Piper was taken aback by her mother's harsh tone. She looked at her father, whose cheerful expression had fell. "But, I…"

"Piper, what did I tell you about messing around in the bathtub? You could knock yourself and drown."

"Listen, Mom!" she shouted back. "I can _breathe_ underwater! Don't you think that's odd? How normal people would drown and I can breathe just fine."

"Piper Elizabeth!"

"What are you going to do, Ma?" she hissed back at her mother. "Ground me for being a freak?"

"You are not a freak!" Her dad raised his voice, throwing his book down. Her mother jumped back, lowering her cold gaze. Her father's indigo eyes grew dark. "Piper, there are some things better left alone."

"So you knew? When were you planning on telling me?"

Piper watched her mother turn on her heals and storm off into the room she was sharing with her husband for the night. Her dad shook his head and stared at his daughter, awaiting her answer.

"Never. Leave it alone, Piper. You'll regret you ever found out about this."

Piper watched him pick up his book and follow her mother into the bedroom. Her heart dropped and she began to shake.

What did he mean by that?

* * *

**Author's Note**

Had this idea for a while and decided to give it a shot. Obvi there is some Nyotalia in it, but I think it only applies to like a few characters (Svea, Piper, and another character later on).

I'm back doing what I love best. This will also be posted on my AO3 account of the same name.

I will create a writing schedule for my major projects I have now starting next week. My time will be split between TBAH, FFYL, a fic on AO3, an original story, and maybe another Hetalia one which I am still working out the details on.

Anyway, enjoy~


	2. He's Back

**To Be a Hero**  
_Chapter I_

As the final group went, his golden eyes scanned the faces of the audience. His students were eager to start their summer and although many of them had yet to complete the online test, he knew that their minds were anywhere but on the final presentation. Without much as a second thought, he finished up the grade for the group going and listened to their closing remarks.

When they had finished, he ran a hand through his black hair, watching the others clap, rather unenthusiastically, and turn their attention to the back of the room, where he had the clock. He stood up, clearing his throat and adjusting his glasses.

"Well, that is all I have for this class. I wish you all a happy summer. Stay safe, stay smart. You are dismissed."

A shuffle of bags and chairs was the reply he received and slowly the students filed out. After five minutes, the stragglers had left and he was left alone.

"Erikur, I know you're in here," the teacher said, staring at one chair that had yet to be pushed in. No one had occupied that seat all year and it had been untouched and pushed into the table up until today.

Soon, a young man appeared before his eyes, with platinum blond hair that was almost white, and big violet eyes. "How'd you know it was me?" he asked, crossing his arm. The teacher smirked, adjusting his glasses. "Come on, Kiet, I just wanted to hear the last group present."

"Erikur, what do you want?" Kiet asked, shaking his head as he sat down. "And you forget who I am. I've known you your entire life. Also, you were sitting in the perfect spot where your shadow gave you away."

Erikur groaned and stood up, pushing the chair in. "I just wanted to see you. Now that you're not a busy professor."

"What do you want?" Kiet repeated, taking a seat at his desk and opening his laptop. Erikur walked towards the front of the classroom and looked away when Kiet peered over the top of his screen. "Cat got your tongue, Eri?"

"I know about Lukas."

There was a brief pause before Kiet responded, "Well, yeah, I know you do," he replied, looking down at his screen. He began to type rather fast, probably entering grades before he took off for his summer vacation.

Not one to be brushed off, Erikur growled. "No, I know that he's left France."

Kiet ceased typing. He didn't look up and Erikur grew impatient, waiting for a response. Kiet cleared his throat again, before saying in a voice a tad but deeper than his regular tone, "Erikur, that is classified information and you know I can't tell you about it."

"Bull shit. Why the hell not?"

Kiet resumed typing. "Eri, I have never left you in the dark. I have always been honest with you–"

"Unless," Erikur interjected, "It was about _fuckingLukas_."

"I need you to trust me. I know that keeping what I know about him classified is better for you."

"I know that you and Mikkel are trying so hard to protect me," Erikur muttered. "But I'm nineteen! I can take care of myself. I don't understand why you still treat me like I'm five."

"Because to me, you're still the same little boy who was left alone in the woods and couldn't control his powers for shit." Kiet smirked as Erikur turned bright red at the mention of his childhood. "Look, it's not a big deal. I highly doubt Lukas will come back to the states. If he does, well…"

"Nobody really knows what'll happen if he does, huh?"

Kiet nodded bitterly. "There's not a lot of my generation left. There's not a lot of kids your age or younger either that haven't…" Erikur adverted Kiet's gaze. "Well, you know. I think the only people still around from when I was your age is me, Mikkel, Jake… even Feliks. The others have either left the states or died."

"Raivis and I can help!"

Kiet tied to hold back a chuckle, which earned a glare from the younger boy. "You and Raivis are not where Mikkel and I were. You aren't even where _Feliks_ was." Kiet closed his laptop and stood up, adding, "And it's not your fault. You know why it has to be like that."

Erikur groaned and shook his head. "I know. I just…"

"Erikur, you wouldn't be able to handle Lukas. He's on an entirely different level. He would destroy you."

Packing his laptop into its case, he slung the bag over his shoulder. Erikur leaned against the desk and watched as Kiet made his way to the door. "And I don't think he would hesitate for a goddam second to end you."

Kiet motioned for Erikur to follow and he did so. "Are there more kids like us?" he asked. Kiet turned to lock the classroom door and Erikur whispered, "You know, like me and Raivis?"

"I also can't tell you that, since it's our goal to protect any kids that come along in the post-purge years. We aren't scotch free, Eri, and those like us are at risk for being killed. And honestly, people like Jan don't tell me those kind of things."

"But do you know of _any_?"

Kiet hesitated. "I do know of a few. I helped raise one for a short while. But when she was old enough, I sent her to another family because it was unsafe for her to be with me. They don't like us to be together and they don't want us raising each other. You and Raivis are the exceptions. There was nowhere else for you two to go, because we had few allies and we couldn't send you two to families who had already adopted without suspicion."

Erikur sighed, before asking, "Are you still in contact with the girl?"

"Every once in a while I am. It's become easier because I had been in England for a while, before I sent her here. When I moved back to the States, she found me." Erikur hummed in thought. "Other than you and Raivis, I haven't interacted with any of the kids I know about face-to-face."

"Or do you and you can't say because it'll give them away?" Erikur inquired, studying Kiet's expression. When he didn't give an actual answer, Erikur knew that was the case. Although with Kiet's job, it could be any of his current or former students. He knew he couldn't figure it out without looking as far back as when Kiet taught elementary social studies.

"Have you been bothering Mikkel with these questions?"

"Mikkel wouldn't answer these," Erikur stated. "You know that his goal is to hide me from everything. He doesn't even know I went snooping to find out the information on Lukas." Kiet rolled his eyes. "Are you coming over? I heard him talking to you on the phone last night."

"He said it was important. Sounded like he was shocked too. I probably will." Erikur nodded and stopped at the end of the hallway. "Don't worry about anything, Eri. Everything always fixes itself."

"But what if it doesn't?" Erikur asked. "What if this is the beginning of… of something bad?"

Kiet didn't say anything, but a flash of darkness ran behind him. Erikur jumped and inhale.

Kiet didn't have an answer and Erikur worried that he never would.

**x x x**

Kiet showed up around almost nine, to find Erikur's car missing from the driveway. He parked in the street and turned off his car, glancing back up at the house to find a figure standing on the front stoop. "He still has it."

Getting out of the car, he walked across the front yard and over to the tall man. Mikkel had bright blue eyes and wild blond hair and wore a smile like it was a permanent facial feature. Kiet returned the smile and said, "Everything alright here?"

"Erikur's moody. He's out with his friends right now. Come in, I made coffee."

Mikkel stepped aside and Kiet walked in, removing his shoes out of habit. Mikkel signed and rubbed his temples, making his way into the dining room. Kiet scanned over the pictures hanging on the wall before he went into the dining room.

"You look stressed," Kiet stated, sitting down in his chair and watching his old friend pour the coffee. "Is it only Erikur?"

"Another one of us has gone missing," Mikkel simply said.

"One goes missing every day, Mikkel," Kiet replied, a little tired of always being called in. "You can't suspect much from it. Shit happens."

"Kiku is missing, Kiettisuk."

Kiet's eyes widened and he gripped his cup, "Since when?"

"Two weeks ago. An informative told the Bureau about it last week. Jan told me three nights ago." Mikkel watched Kiet bring the cup to his lips, his hands shaking. "We debated about telling you, but… you two were so close…"

"We weren't just _close_, Mikkel," Kiet spat, slamming the cup down onto the table. "Kiku and I were more than that. You know if I could've…"

"Then why did you both call it quits?"

"I have my reasons, Mikkel," Kiet warned. His attention turned towards the doorway and he held his hand out. From beneath him, a large shadow speed towards the entryway into the dining room and a scream was heard.

Mikkel shook his head. "What did I tell you, Erikur?" he stated.

The shadow held up what appeared to be nothing, until slowly, Erikur began to appear. "If it makes you feel better I just got here. I didn't even hear what Kiet just said."

Kiet had the shadow release him and it slithered back to him. Erikur caught himself and leaned against the wall, earning a disapproving glare from Mikkel. "A man I was very close to went missing. He was… one of us."

"That doesn't mean anything, Ki," Mikkel stated, crossing his arms.

"Don't lie to yourself, Mikkel," Kiet simply said.

"You do it enough to me," Erikur muttered, and Mikkel shot him a look. Erikur glared back, until a glass narrowly missed his head. "Hey, that's unfair!"

"I do it because there are things you're better off not knowing."

Kiet raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Well, is that the only reason you called me in here? To inform me that Kiku was gone?" Mikkel frowned, directing his gaze over to Erikur. Kiet snorted loudly, before saying, "Just say it, Mikkel. He wants to hang with the big boys? Let's see if he can handle it."

Erikur tried not to take it personally, since he could tell Kiet was hurting pretty bad. Mikkel sighed, before replying, "Jan may or may not have tracked Lukas to the states. Our last known coordinations of him is that he was in Hawaii as of three weeks ago."

Kiet's grip on the glass tightened. "Hawaii? Did you even bother to warn anyone?" Erikur had never seen this side of Kiet before, and suddenly he was starting to worry.

"No. We didn't have time, nor could we, Kiet. Kiku has been out of our circle for years. We didn't think much of it at first… and I guess we were wrong."

"Wait, Lukas… Lukas killed Kiku?" Erikur interjected. Mikkel didn't nod and Kiet smashed the glass cup in his hands. Mikkel gave a shaky sigh and Erikur grabbed a towel, handing it to the Asian.

"Kiet, there was also a disappearance. I'm afraid Lukas is gathering an army."

"Of what?"

"Young people who don't know the true potential of their powers. Mei Xiao was an orphan in Honolulu, never had a family, parents died under mysterious circumstances… Mei was reported missing."

"She's a Special?" Kiet rose to his feet and walked over to Mikkel's laptop. "Log on." Mikkel sat down. "Xiao, Xiao… that name is awfully familiar."

"Looked her up already, no records on that family name," Mikkel already stated. Erikur walked behind Mikkel to peer over his shoulder and study the screen. Kiet tsk'd loudly and shook his head.

"What about Silva de Vaz?" Kiet inquired. "Don't you remember him? He was young, innovated, and a dick."

Mikkel turned around and glared at Kiet. "You think Lukas would actually _work_ with someone?"

"Do you think Lukas can charm young kids on his own? Silva de Vaz has charisma. He would be useful to Lukas, and he knows a thing or two about evading us so called heroes. Plus, he's remained very quiet, under the radar. Where has he been?"

"Manuel Silva de Vaz moves around a lot. His records show different countries, states, everything," Mikkel's eyes didn't move from the screen. "He spent a significant amount of time in France…"

"During the same period Lukas resided there?" Kiet asked and leaned over his shoulder.

"Yes. He was there a bit, actually. Seems he would leave and come back. Why didn't anyone catch onto this before?"

"Here," Kiet pointed to the screen. "He left for Hawaii and stayed there up until three days ago. This is huge. I can't believe Jan didn't see this."

"Jan isn't in charge of this shit anymore, remember?" Mikkel replied bitterly. "Last known coordinations… Florida." Mikkel stood up and ran to the kitchen. He returned with a paper in his hand, saying, "Timo and Svea were there with the kids."

Kiet's eyes widened. Erikur, having stood by long enough, asked, "What's the big deal? Do they know that Svea and Timo are associated with us?"

"Lukas does, but it's not them I'm worried about," Mikkel replied. Erikur gave him a confused look and Kiet's frowned deepened.

"Then who is it?"

After a brief moment of silence, Mikkel and Kiet exchanged cautious nods. Mikkel inhaled slowly, but didn't say anything. Finally, fed up with Mikkel's hesitancy, Kiet spoke up.

"We're worried about Piper."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Since I had this and the prologue typed up, I decided to post them now while I work on the schedule. ENJOY~


	3. Birthright

**To Be a Hero****  
**_Chapter II_

The next day her mother had left her father in charge of the kids while she made some calls, promising to meet up for dinner. Her father had claimed that work had gotten in the way, but she knew that he was lying to her.

Besides, he had lied to her for sixteen years, why would he stop now?

Piper had stayed in the hotel room, mostly, while her father and brother went down to the pool to swim. She had flipped through the channels before settling on a telenovela that she could only understand the few words that she knew from Spanish class. Her father left her be, for the most part, as he was well aware she was in no mood to talk.

Piper began to doze off, when she heard a knock at the door. She stood up and walked over, looking out of the peephole and examining the man on the other side. He wasn't her father, from what she could tell, but he was dressed as one of the employees.

"Go away," she shouted. "My father isn't here."

The knocking persisted. Piper grew angrier and balled her hands into fists. "Go away!" she yelled again, but this time the man began to yank on the door. "I said go away! Don't you speak English?"

There was a sudden chill in the air, and Piper watched as the door violently shook. She suddenly got a bad feeling about all of this and dove for cover, watching to door get blown off its hinges by a strung blast of lightening.

"What the hell?"

The man walked through the door, his dark blue eyes scanning the room. "Well, poor little Piper," he muttered. "Left all alone. Makes it so much easier for me to kill you."

Piper rolled over behind the table and watched as another bolt of lightning flew from his hands. "Come on, dearie, I'm trying to make this as painless as possible."

Piper glanced around the room, noticing the sink in the makeshift kitchen. She inhaled and focused all her attention on that one sink. "Come on, Piper, make this easy on me. I'm not as young as I once was."

Suddenly, a big burst of water came up from the sink, causing the faucet to fly off. Piper gaped, but tried to make it so that it was aimed at the blond man. After multiple tries, she finally got it, and the man was knocked back.

"Oh, you must be new to this. You've got a huge disadvantage, girl."

Lukas raised a hand and the water froze solid, and Piper immediately scream, running towards the kitchen and grabbing a knife. Another bolt of lightning was sent her direction, but she was able to dodge it and instead, it caught the paper towels on fire.

The fire alarm went off and the sprinklers immediately turned on. Piper used her free hand to try and gather them into a giant ball, but Lukas was able to knock her off her feet with a swift kick.

"Leave me alone!"

"No!" the man stood over her and smirked, ripping the blade from her hand. "You may be confused now, but it doesn't matter, because as long as _I'm_ happy, who cares if _you_ die?"

Piper let out a loud scream that seemed to echo through the halls. The people across the hallway had heard the commotion and became very distraught when they heard her scream and ran into the room.

"Mary, call the cops!"

Mary's husband ran towards them, but Lukas leapt away from Piper and he crashed into the wall. "This won't be the last time we meet, Piper Kirkland," the man said, making his way to the window. "But I'm certain when we _do_ meet again, it'll be a fairer fight. But it _will_ be the last time. For you, anyway."

He smirked and let out a loud cackle, leaping from the window. Piper ran over to it and was shocked when she saw him float away on a cloud. Mary returned to the destroyed and soaking wet room and put a hand on Piper's shoulder.

"Are you okay, dearie?"

She shuddered, but nodded. "My mom's out making some calls and my dad's at the pool with my brother."

"I'll go get them. Stay her with here." Mary nodded and her husband approached them. "By the way, is this your clip?"

Mary's husband opened his hand to reveal a cross pin, and Piper stared at it. She took it from him, but didn't deny or claim it as her own. He did, however, tuck it in her pocket.

This was a clue as to who the man was, and she wasn't going to rest until she found out.

**x x x**

Timo wasn't sure why he had a bad feeling, but when he saw the man walking towards them, he knew that it wasn't going to be good.

Upon hearing of the unwarranted attack, and the odd nature of the destruction, Timo knew who was behind it. He grabbed Oscar from the pool and the two ran up to their floor. Piper was waiting outside the room with the man's wife and Piper seemed to be very calm for having almost been killed. She was talking calmly to some officers.

"How did the fire start?"

She began glance down and her father stepped in. "I think she's had a rough day. I'm sure she did it to see if anyone would come and help her. Now, my daughter is distressed and needs to get some rest. You have the description? Then go and find him."

The manager came over and offered to move Timo's family to another room and offered to have security guards for the night. Timo agreed to both terms, and once they had moved rooms, he called Svea and told her it was an emergency.

That night, they sent Oscar and Piper to bed very early, and while they knew Oscar wouldn't stay up, they had a feeling Piper would and she would eavesdrop on them. Timo was too stressed out to care, and by the sound of it, his wife was too.

"I think we need to send Piper away."

Timo shook his head and sipped on his beer. "Svea, we can't do that. We did everything we could to ensure this wouldn't happen, how would sending her away help? Have you spoken to Mikkel?"

"Yes, I told him about everything. He had said he and Kiet had been trying to track Lukas all day. Although, I was certain he would come after Erikur before he would think about Piper."

Svea sighed and brought her glass to her lips. "It doesn't make much sense, then. What would he want with Piper?" Timo asked.

"Mikkel says we need to come home right away, or at least… Piper does. He can probably explain things better."

"Timo, I do not want _our_ daughter involved in this mess."

Timo looked over to the bedrooms and sighed. 

"Svea," he said. "She was already involved in this. Now, she can't go back. We can't keep lying to her and denying her the truth. She could have _died_ today. We denied her the same opportunities Erikur and Raivis had growing up. If we had let her use her powers…"

"She won't _need_ to use them. I know my brother well, and I know he's planning something, Timo. And I know Piper is a part of it."

Timo forced a smile. "Well, she _is_ a Kirkland."

"No, she's a Väinämöinen now, and I refuse to let her end up like her birth parents."

Timo put a hand on his wife's shoulder. "Svea, let's let Piper decide if she's ready to accept her birthright."

Svea sighed and closed her eyes. In reality, she was scared that if her daughter would accept her birthright, than she would ultimately accept death, too.


	4. Ready or Not

**A/N:** Hey guys, so, Ola (a lovely guest) left me a pretty sweet review with an awesome suggestion I had been debating about. If at ANY point in time you are confused about the names, my tumblr has a page with headcanon names:

aphsnoopdogg dot tumblr dot com / humannames

There are three categories and you'll have no need for the 2P section for this story, but the normal and nyotalia version should come in handy! This would be the quickest way to refresh yourself in case a character isn't around for a few chapters or whatever.

Please DM me if you have any questions!

Also changed my penname! So there's that. Uhm… yeah sorry I felt uninspired to work on any fanfiction lately so it took a while. And I give you… a crappy chapter that it was hard to write, but there's a pretty decent cliffhanger at the end.

**x x x**

**To Be a Hero****  
**_Chapter III_

Piper arrived at her uncle's house shortly after three in the afternoon. When they returned home, her parents had gotten into an argument, which started over the fact her father wanted to drive her over to her uncle's, while her mother changed her mind and wished to return to their own, calm, and less hectic lifestyle.

But Piper didn't _want_ that. Piper wanted to know what was wrong. She clenched the cross in her hand and decided that even though she didn't have her motorcycle license yet, she _needed _to see her Uncle Mikkel.

"You're absolutely terrible."

She jumped almost ten feet in the air and turned to face the blond haired man. Mikkel always seemed to know what someone was thinking or when someone was at his house. Suddenly, she thought her uncle's unique talent was weird, and maybe he was… _like her_.

"Uncle Mikkel, I…"

He held up his hand and Piper frowned. "You're here because of what happened. Luckily, I had my friend, Dr. Sripuy, bring over your files. We can talk about this inside."

"My files?" she asked. Her uncle nodded in return and motioned her to follow. Inside, Erikur, her older cousin, and an Asian man were sitting in the living room, talking quietly as they were reading some things. "Kiet, where did you set Piper's files?"

The Asian motioned to the coffee table and Mikkel grabbed the manila envelope. "Your name is Piper Kirkland. You were born to Rose Kirkland, who was able to pass through solid objects. Your father was Francis Bonnefoy, known especially for his ability to manipulate his size…"

"And his super good looks," Kiet muttered to himself. Erikur shot the man a dirty look and Mikkel coughed.

Piper took her birth certificate and examined it. "They never married, just in case something were to happen."

"And something did?" Piper had asked. As far as she was concerned, the whole "I'm adopted" thing didn't bother her, since she would always assume she was anyway. She and Oscar didn't look like each other and she hardly shared any traits with her parents.

"They were killed. The government tracked down Francis' location and were able to identify your mother as well."

"You see, Miss Kirkland," Kiet stood up and brushed off his pants. "Your uncle and I are one of these so called 'Specials.' So is Erikur. Mikkel and I use to fight crime within the city a long time ago. However, something happened… and now we're all forced into hiding."

Piper shook her head, and pulled out some more paperwork. She looked up at the two men and said, "I'm… not sure I understand."

Mikkel sighed. Kiet cleared his throat, "Sixteen years ago, a guy by the name of Lukas Thomassen decided he was tired of being good. He… lost sight of what he wanted. He became selfish, and wanted more power."

Mikkel looked pained by all of this, and Piper reached into her pocket, pulling out the golden cross. "Is… he the man…?" She held out her palm and Mikkel paled. He took the cross and looked over at Kiet.

"He is. He one day took out his anger on the city, and the battle resulted in destruction and death. From there on, we were banned from being able to use our powers. At first, many of us tried to flee the country, when it became apparent what was… _happening_…"

Kiet's expression did not change. "But then, the United States led an international ban against any 'superheroes' or the likes. Soon, we had to hide our identities, or risk being arrested and killed. There was also a boom in babies between our group… such as your parents, Erikur's…"

Erikur immediately interjected, "Yeah, well, you guys did a shitty job in protecting them."

Kiet turned on his heels, narrowing his eyes. "Your situation is _very _different. Your parents were killed by your brother." Erikur rolled his eyes and pulled out another envelope, returning to whatever he was doing. "Erikur is Lukas' brother. In order to protect him, we changed his last name. It's very risky to send Special kids to other Specials, but in Erikur and Raivis' case… they were too old to go elsewhere."

Piper was trying to comprehend all of this. It made her sick thinking about everything that was being thrown at her. "So… what about me?"

Kiet gave Mikkel a look that told him to say something, and he cleared his throat. "Your parents were good friends with Lukas… and… I… so when they died, they hid you away so you wouldn't be found. They had planned for me to take you in, but I had already taken Erikur in… and even though I wanted to, it would look suspicious."

Rubbing his temples, he continued, "Svea and Timo were just married and there was serious doubt they would ever conceive. They're part of the Allies. Those are the Normals who help try and protect people like us…"

"So you had them take me in?" Piper asked, crossing her arms. "And you had them lie."

"Please understand, all kids were lied to at the time. However, it's not an easy lie to keep. Most kids find out about their powers around the same time you do."

Piper looked over at Kiet and sighed. "Okay… okay… so, now, what does Lukas want with me?"

"Well," Kiet began, giving an off chuckle. "The Agency hasn't specifically instructed us to do so yet, but… if he _is _planning to take over the world… he has no idea how to fight a younger generation. Lukas is very old fashioned, even if he isn't that old. He doesn't know how your generation would fight, or even what powers your generations of Specials has."

"That is why various Special kids have been disappearing in the world." Kiet nodded as Mikkel elaborated, "Lukas wants to wear you out. He wants to study you and see how to take you out."

"Then why wouldn't he want to recruit her?" Erikur asked. "I understand Raivis and myself not being recruited… but… Piper? He doesn't know her like that!"

Kiet's eyes flashed. "When we went into hiding, the Agency had decided a list of kids that _must_ be protected at all costs. You and Raivis, obviously, are a part of it. There are five more kids on the list, all of them born in the time span between you and Piper. That's three years of kids."

"The Agency decided that… _if_ Lukas came back and tried to threaten the world… then… this list of kids would be the ones… dedicated to stopping him." Piper dropped the envelope, her jaw opened. "Svea would've been furious if she knew about this list, so… we never discussed it outside the four of us…"

"Who else knows?" Erikur asked.

"Myself, Kiet, Jake, and Jan, obviously… how do you think I got these files?" Mikkel smirked and Erikur rolled his eyes. "Jake," Mikkel turned to Piper, explaining, "Is also a Special, although he only has super strength and can communicate with animals. He's a Half."

"Nothing wrong with that, Mikkel," Kiet stated. Mikkel waved him off.

"At least you don't pretend to be Snow White all the time."

Piper stood there in silence, trying to wrap her head around the fact she would have to save the world. This wasn't what she was expecting. She was fine with being… _different_. She didn't mind that.

What she minded was now it was her job to fight a man she had never even met.

The phone rang and Mikkel excused himself, walking over into the kitchen. Erikur began to pick up the last manila envelope in the box, and Kiet left Piper to her thoughts, returning to the file he had. Erikur opened the envelope with caution.

Mikkel entered the kitchen in a panic. "He's found another of the kids."

"Is it Raivis?" Kiet asked.

"No, he wouldn't… not with Feliks…" Mikkel shook his head. "But he's in town…"

Erikur slowly pulled out the sheet and his jaw dropped. The picture on the sheet was far too familiar, with dark eyes and hair and a bored expression on his face.

"Leon Wang…"

Kiet picked up on the hint, and immediately paled. "He's going after Leon!"

Piper felt very unsure of what was going on. Mikkel turned to her and said, "You ready for this?"

"No!" she replied. But she still grabbed her coat and followed her uncle to the garage. Ready or not, she had a duty to fulfill.


End file.
